Senate panel approves rural water bill with key amendment
by David Biscobing
Cronkite News Service

STATE CAPITOL – A Senate committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow local governments in rural areas to stop developments lacking adequate water supplies.

The Committee on Natural Resources amended the bill to require any government wishing to adopt a 100‑year standard for water adequacy to do so on a unanimous vote. A similar bill that won approval last week from a state House committee would require a simple majority vote from local governments.

The committee approved SB 1575, sponsored by Marsha Arzberger, D‑Willcox, by a 4‑3 vote.

It approved two other bills that were based on recommendations from the Statewide Water Advisory Group, a panel of state leaders advising the Arizona Department of Water Resources. One would provide loans for rural water projects. The other is intended to prevent contaminated wells.

“These bills come from recognizing the fact that there are some counties that need tools to control growth and protect their water supply,” Arzberger said, adding that places like Sierra Vista are in critical situations in terms of water.

“I don’t know if I like the ability of a city or county to deny someone’s right to build a house on their own property, even if they know that they have to pump in their own water,” said Sen. Chuck Gray, R‑Mesa, who voted against the bill.

Counties and communities that choose to adopt the 100‑year standard for water supply would have to exempt development companies that have made significant investments in their subdivisions, other than land purchases, before learning that new requirements would go into effect.

Local governments also could allow developments that plan to use water from a project that’s under construction or haul in water, but a note of the water‑supply exemption would be made on the deed of each property in the subdivision.

Herb Guenther, director of the Department of Water Resources, said the current situation in rural areas is dysfunctional.

“It’s just good common sense,” Guenther said of the SWAG legislation. “If we are going to build a population and it involves water, we should at least provide a reasonable amount of water so people can sustain themselves.”

The 100‑year time frame was selected because it gives communities enough time to determine how, if needed, to obtain more water, Guenther said, explaining that rural areas will have to look into additional methods to supply water, including reusing water and bringing in an additional supply, during that time.

The natural resources committee also approved SB 1608, which would set up a fund that could issue loans and grants for water‑supply projects in rural areas.

“This bill is immensely important for places that are exhausting their water supplies in rural Arizona,” Guenther said. “These projects are beyond the capacity of most rural communities because they are so expensive to construct, but also to operate and maintain.”

Rep. Lucy Mason, R‑Prescott, agreed with Guenther about the importance of creating a fund and urged lawmakers to approve the bill.

“It’s extremely important and I cannot stress how important it is to have the infrastructure,” Mason said. “With the growth we are having in rural Arizona, we have got to address this. This bill helps us with that.”

In addition, the committee approved a third bill based on SWAG’s recommendations. SB1638 authorizes the director of the water resources department to prohibit the drilling of a new well if it will likely result in the migration of contaminated groundwater to both exempt and non‑exempt wells statewide.